Top Items:
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum / Washington Post:
Loophole in Lobbying Bill Leaves Wiggle Room — Lawmakers are about to bombard the American public with proposals that would crack down on lobbyists. Several prominent plans, including one outlined yesterday by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), would specifically ban meals and privately paid travel for lawmakers.
RELATED ITEMS:
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
2002 Memo Doubted Uranium Sale Claim — WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 - A high-level intelligence assessment by the Bush administration concluded in early 2002 that the sale of uranium from Niger to Iraq was "unlikely" because of a host of economic, diplomatic and logistical obstacles …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Power Line, The Next Hurrah, TAPPED, Rantingprofs, First Draft, Mia Culpa and Needlenose
RELATED ITEM:
Ceci Connolly / Washington Post:
HHS Works to Fix Drug Plan Woes — Widespread Difficulties With New Medicare Benefit Reported — President Bush's top health advisers will fan out across the country this week to quell rising discontent with a new Medicare prescription drug benefit that has tens of thousands of elderly …
Discussion:
firedoglake, The Carpetbagger Report, Crooks and Liars, Eschaton, Think Progress and The Sideshow
RELATED ITEM:
Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
PART D, AS IN DEBACLE: — So just how badly is President Bush's Medicare prescription drug program, known as "Part D," going? On Tuesday morning, I landed in Nashville, Tennessee, to find this bold headline atop the Tennessean front page: "PHARMACISTS DECRY MEDICARE CHAOS."
Associated Press:
Supreme Court Steers Clear of First Abortion Case in 5 Years — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that a lower court was wrong to strike down New Hampshire abortion restrictions, steering clear of a major ruling on whether such laws place an undue burden on women.
RELATED ITEM:
James Webb / New York Times:
Purple Heartbreakers — IT should come as no surprise that an arch-conservative Web site is questioning whether Representative John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has been critical of the war in Iraq, deserved the combat awards he received in Vietnam.
U.S. Newswire:
Leading Conservatives Call for Extensive Hearings on NSA Surveillance; Checks on Invasive Federal Powers Essential — Contact: Laura Brinker, 202-715-1540, for Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, laura.brinker@dittus.com — WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 /U.S. Newswire …
Simon Jenkins / Guardian:
The west has picked a fight with Iran that it cannot win — Washington's kneejerk belligerence ignores Tehran's influence and the need for subtle engagement — Never pick a fight you know you cannot win. Or so I was told. Pick an argument if you must, but not a fight.
RELATED ITEMS:
Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
First Lady Assails Sen. Clinton for Remark — Laura Bush criticized Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday for suggesting that the Republican-controlled House is run like a plantation where dissenting voices are ignored. — "It think it's ridiculous _ it's a ridiculous comment," …
RELATED ITEM:
Washington Post:
U.S. Journalist Shown as Hostage — Kidnappers in Iraq Threaten to Kill Her, Demanding Female Prisoners Be Freed — BAGHDAD, Jan. 17 — The captors of an American journalist kidnapped in Baghdad 10 days ago threatened to kill her in three days unless authorities freed all female prisoners in Iraq …
RELATED ITEM:
Los Angeles Times:
UCLA Alumni Group Is Tracking 'Radical' Faculty — A fledgling alumni group headed by a former campus Republican leader is offering students payments of up to $100 per class to provide information on instructors who are "abusive, one-sided or off-topic" in advocating political ideologies.
Associated Press:
Death row elder needed 2 injections — Last words: 'Hoka hey, it's a good day to die' — SAN QUENTIN, California (AP) — In the end, California's oldest condemned inmate did not seem quite as feeble as his attorneys made him out to be in their efforts to save his life.
Steven Malanga / City Journal:
Ronald Reagan's Unlikely Heir — Ohio's Republican gubernatorial front-runner Ken Blackwell is "Jesse Jackson's worst nightmare." — Ken Blackwell has just finished regaling a group of Ohio retailers with his vision of how to turn around the state's struggling economy with a heavy dose of fiscal restraint and tax cuts.
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
ACLU:
Statement - Christopher Hitchens, NSA Lawsuit Client — Although I am named in this suit on my own behalf, I am motivated to join it by concerns well beyond my own. I have been frankly appalled by the discrepant and contradictory positions taken by the Administration in this matter.
Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
White House Silent on Abramoff Meetings — WASHINGTON - The White House is refusing to reveal details of tainted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's visits with President Bush's staff. — Abramoff had "a few staff-level meetings" at the Bush White House, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday.
Richard Winton / Los Angeles Times:
Former Teen Idol Garrett Charged With Heroin Possession — Seventies teen idol Leif Garrett was charged this morning with possession of heroin after his arrest in the Pershing Square subway station over the weekend. — Garrett was due to appear in Los Angeles County Superior Court later today.
